Altogether 66 national treasures from the National Museum of China are currently being exhibited at the Hainan Provincial Museum of Haikou. Opened on April 1, the ongoing exhibition will run through June 2 to showcase precious cultural relics including the Square Zun with four sheep, the Jade burial suit of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD24), the Qin terracotta warriors and horses and other notable artifacts.

Jade burial suit of the Western Han Dynasty

Unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Huai of the Western Han Dynasty, the jade burial suit consists of 1,203 pieces of jade and 2,567 grams of gold thread. Ancient Chinese believed that jade had magical properties and would prevent the decay of the body. So when the royal aristocrats died, jade was sewn into human-shaped burial suits with silver or golden threads to wrap the dead bodies.

Basin painted with the design of human face and fish

Excavated in the 1950s in Banpo Village in Xi'an of Shaanxi Province, the basin painted with the design of human face and fish is the most representative ware of Yangshao culture which is named after the village name where the first such site was discovered. As an important Neolithic culture in the middle reaches of the Yellow river, Yangshao period extended from about 4500-2500 B. C. and Shaanxi province was the center of this culture for its large quantity of cultural sites.

Putting dead children into funeral urns as a form of coffin was a popular custom in Yangshao culture. The basin was supposed to cover the urn and be buried together close to the house. Painted with a human face and two fishes at the ears, the pottery basin, according to some scholars, was used in funeral rituals to call back the spirit of the dead child.

The basin is the oldest cultural relic in this exhibition. It is uniformly red in color and decorated with black pigment and its meaningful pattern is concluded not only used for blessing but also should be a totem of ancient Banpo people.

Gui Food Container Made for Li (Li Gui)

The Gui Food Container for Li was excavated in 1976 in Lintong, Shaanxi province. The vessel is precious for its inscription on the inner bottom, which recorded that Emperor Wu led punitive expeditions to conquer Emperor Zhou and eventually overthrew the Shang Dynasty (About 1600-1100BC). This gui was the award that Emperor Wu granted to Li (a person's name).

Gui, a utensil used to contain food in ancient times, also served as an important ritual vessel when it was used together with Ding (an usual three-legged ancient Chinese cooking vessel).

In accordance with the ritual system of Zhou Dynasty (About 1100-221BC), only the emperor can have the right to use 9 Dings and 8 Guis together.

 Inscription on the inner bottom of Li Gui

Li Gui is the earliest bronze ware of Western Zhou Dynasty (about 1100-771BC) found in China so far. It provides a rare historical record for historians to further study the history of Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

Square Zun Carved with Four Sheep Heads

As an ancient wine vessel, the Square Zun carved with four sheep was made in Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1100BC), and is 58.6cm in height and 69.0kg in weight. It has four protruding busts of curly-horn sheep as a relief on each of the four corners and the whole Zun body was carved with delicate patterns, making the vessel impressive at first sight.

Zun was not only used as wine vessel but also served as ritual article in sacrificial ceremonies. We are surprised by ancient people's perfect skills and fertile imagination; even today our modern technology may find it hard to match.

Boasted as the biggest square Zun of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, this Zun is thought to be one of the most important masterpieces in the history of China's bronze making.

Bronze Bingjian (big basin-like vessel used to hold ice)

This bronze Bingjian was unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Zeng in 1977. Its shape and pattern were developed based on the traditional style of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which represented the ingenuity and elegance of bronze wares in the tomb of Marquis Zeng.

Bingjian was a big basin-like vessel used to hold ice in order to cool the wine in summer time. It may be the most primitive refrigerator that has been found in China. It can also be used to keep wine warm when hot water is poured into it.

This renowned touring exhibition promises to enchant audiences who traditionally have had little opportunity to see such ancient Chinese culture.